Mobile electronic devices, such as smart telephones and tablet computing devices, are capable of providing various types of feedback to a user. For example, to alert the user to the occurrence of an event, an electronic device may ring, vibrate, emit light flashes, or the like. Additionally, mobile electronic devices are commonly used by a user to interact with application programs and other media content such as videos. For example, numerous gaming applications can be played on a mobile electronic device. Various types of actions or events can occur in application programs and videos. Explosions, crashes, driving a vehicle, and flying a plane are examples of actions and events that can occur, and these actions and events are viewed, and in some cases, heard by the user.
Stationary electronic devices, such as video game consoles, generally provide visual, auditory, and vibrational feedback to a user while the user is interacting with certain media content. In some situations, one or more torques is generated to provide feedback to the user. The torque feedback systems, however, may not suitable for mobile electronic devices because the torque feedback system requires a reference surface from which to apply the force. The lack of a reference surface from which to apply torques to a mobile electronic device limits the ways in which a mobile electronic device can interact with its surroundings and provide physical feedback to a user.